Botswana National Sport Council (BNSC) chairperson, Solly Reikeletseng has commended the great achievement of Botswana sport heroes who have made the country proud at recent international events.

Addressing the affiliates at the BNSC Ordinary General Meeting in Gaborone on Thursday, November 20, he said Botswana’s pursuit to greatness as a sporting nation continues to be evident in the international arena

He said Nijel Amos did a great job of dethroning the world best in the male 800m and claiming a gold medal at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow in August.

Reikeletseng stated that Amos further secured a tittle of the IAAF diamond league champion 2014 and claiming two gold medals at the Africa Championship and IAAF World Cup in athletics.

He also commended Isaac Makwala following his record breaking performance in Africa and high jumper Kabelo Kgosiemang together with the 4×4 relay team.

The chairperson said chess also did them proud at the Chess Olympiad in Norway by moving from position 10 to five out of 32 countries in Africa as well as from position 111 to position 90 out of 180 countries in the world

Reikeletseng acknowledged that they face challenges in running of the centres of sport excellence hence they are engaged in an exercise of continuous improvement.

“I need to state that majority of the athletics medals won at the African Youth Games in May came from centres of excellence students in Goodhope Senior Secondary School by Karabo Sibanda and Baboloki Thebe.”

He highlighted that the initiative is a challenge to other codes to emulate athletics and invest in the centres the best way they can, adding that BNSC continues to make notable efforts.

He said in order to enhance the continued good performance by elite athletes BNSC has signed Memorandum of Understanding with Project Concern International on athlete mentoring program mewhere 20 identified past and present elite athletes will mentor young athletes.

The chairperson stated that preparations for the Africa Union Sport Council Youth Games scheduled for December 5-15 in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe are ongoing where Botswana will send a team of 149 athletes from nine codes.

Reikeletseng further said that the process for recruitment of the CEO is on course with the new CEO expected to report for duty in January 2015.

He welcomed the new Minister of Youth Sport and Culture Thapelo Olopeng and the new permanent secretary in the ministry.

He also welcomed the new presidents and secretary generals elected in the different sport association committees.

Responding to a question from Botswana Volleyball Federation president, Daniel Molaodi,Reikeletseng said preparations for the 2015 All Africa Games are ongoing as

they have already appointed the chef de mission, working on the budget and are looking into engaging associations.

Molaodi had asked the chairperson to brief them on the preparations for the AAG, stating that some of the codes like volleyball had to go through qualifiers in order to compete at the games and hence needed to prepare for the games well in time.